Waldoboro man sought by police found dead in snow

WALDOBORO, Maine — A 27-year-old Waldoboro man was found dead Sunday morning, a day after police had been searching for him following a disturbance call.

Waldoboro Police Chief William Labombarde reported that Frank Leathers was found dead shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday, several hundred yards off Winslow Mills Road. The death is not considered suspicious and the chief said he suspects that the man succumbed from the cold. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday by the Maine medical examiner’s office, the chief said.

Waldoboro police had responded shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday to a report about a disturbance at a Winslow Mills residence. When officers arrived, they were advised that Leathers had left on foot and was heading to a friend’s house on Route 1.

Sgt. Jamie Wilson of the department found footprints in the snow leading into the woods. He searched for a short distance but because of the deep snow and blizzard, he was unable to follow the tracks any further.

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Additional officers arrived as well as the fire chief and an extensive search continued until 12:30 a.m.

A second search began at 8 a.m. Sunday with Maine State Game Warden Joe Lefebvre and members of the police department. Warden Lefebvre and the victim’s younger brother Earl Leathers found him about three hours later.

A telephone message left Monday afternoon with the medical examiner’s office was not immediately returned.